Sign of the times: Everton failed to sell out this game, just as they narrowly failed to fill Goodison for last month's Merseyside derby.

Unlike in the Liverpool game, however, Everton refused to lie down and die in this one, and the 4,000 absent fans missed out on one of the treats of the season. The home side fought back magnificently in a rousing second half and had Manchester United rocking on their heels. Indeed Everton could have won the game had Yakubu shown more composure in front of goal when Rio Ferdinand's second lapse of the game presented him with a gift-wrapped opportunity to beat Edwin van der Sar.

Ferdinand's first lapse had seen Everton draw level in a way few could have predicted after a one-sided first half. The defender came hurtling to his right touchline to intercept an Everton clearance upfield and missed, leaving Steven Pienaar to set up an attack that culminated in the lanky Marouane Fellaini rising highest to nod in Phil Neville's cross. It is possible that Everton paid £15m for the 20-year-old on account of his height. Fellaini certainly puts himself about more now than when he arrived and realises he is expected to compete under high balls, though his and Leon Osman's limitations on the floor in the first half had been ruthlessly exposed by the combination of Ryan Giggs and Darren Fletcher playing centrally with Cristiano Ronaldo and Park Ji-Sung on the flanks.

Somewhat surprisingly, given that Everton still await their first home win of the season, David Moyes declared his side had nothing to lose against a team no one would expect them to beat. He backed up his words by playing both Louis Saha and Yakubu up front, tearing up his previous policy of packing the midfield and playing for draws, a plan that had rarely worked.

Unfortunately, the new gung-ho Everton just looked gummy in the first 45 minutes. Saha and Yakubu will never win awards for industry and had no platform on which to build, with United so dominant in midfield. Everton's chief failing was an inability to pick up Giggs and, as the travelling fans predicted, he duly tore them apart. His role in the opening goal was masterful, biding his time on the edge of the penalty area as Everton covered all obvious options, until picking out Fletcher's run forward. Fellaini should have followed him but did not, and after taking Giggs' pass in his stride Fletcher needed a single touch to take him past Joleon Lescott and the goal was at his mercy.

United conjured any number of similar situations before the interval and managed to waste them all, with Wayne Rooney and Dimitar Berbatov threatening much but achieving little. Both missed chances in a casual manner, as if they knew more would soon come along, and rather too often they would dummy or step over the ball in misplaced anticipation of the other taking advantage, suggesting their allegedly telepathic relationship still needs a bit of work.

'We were a little bit fortunate to turn round just one goal down,' Moyes said candidly. 'They had chances to score more, but at half-time we were still in the match and we knew we had to get tighter. That's all we did. We got closer and got after them, and I am really pleased with the way we finished.'

Had Everton begun the game as they ended it they might even have won. United's attempts on goal all but dried up in the second half, while mistakes began to creep in from the previously impeccable Ferdinand, Nemanja Vidic and Wes Brown. All three points would have flattered Everton, though once back on terms it always looked possible, never more so than when Ferdinand underhit a back-pass and was relieved to see Van der Sar palm Yakubu's shot on to a post. The striker should have done better.

The final 20 minutes were as end-to-end as an FA Cup tie, with United sending on all their attacking substitutes and Everton constantly threatening on the break. There were bookings for Phil Jagielka, Phil Neville, Brown, Rooney and Fellaini as the temperature rose, though Alan Wiley kept things sensible and when a disappointingly ordinary Rooney provoked the Park End by kissing his badge after collecting his caution he was swiftly substituted for his own good.

'I don't know why he was booked,' Sir Alex Ferguson said, 'but I had fears about the way the referee was behaving, the crowd was reacting and I thought he might be sent off. I don't think the referee protected our players enough, but give Everton credit, they changed things and you can't deny them their point.'

THE FANS' PLAYER RATINGS AND VERDICT

That was absolutely brilliant in the end. The first half was tame, but we were like the Everton of last season in the second half and we dominated it – we could've won it, but to be honest so could they. Still, whatever Moyes said at half-time worked – there was no change in formation, but he clearly gave them a kick up the arse. Neville was a brilliant leader after the break, everything was going through him. And the atmosphere in the second half was like the Fiorentina game last year – the best of the season. Hopefully we can turn things around on the back of this. We've not had confidence this season, which even showed today at times, but hopefully things can come together now.

Shaun O'Donnell, Observer reader Two points dropped, definitely. To start off with we were in a different class, passing and moving and interlinking up front. Berbatov was running things. And when we got our goal after 20 minutes we expected another and that would be the end of the game. Giggs, too, was tremendous early on. But in the second half they seemed more up for it, a mistake by Rio lifted their fans and team and gave them hope – they scored. Their fans, who had been quiet (they're probably not used to getting up early) were now in good voice, and their team just fought harder, passed it better, and we went off our game. But there were signs in the first half that we're hitting last season's level of form again.